


Song Of The Sea

by WandaRavenBlack



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Acceptance, Crying, Hugs, Lullabies, Past Character Death, Singing, The Jolly Roger | The Jewel of the Realm (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 09:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27348601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: While on an fishing trip with Emma and her family, little Neal starts to cry. When Snow can't calm him down, Killian decides to step in and help her out. After he gets the boy calm, him and Snow have a conversation that makes her see the man in a new light.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones & Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	Song Of The Sea

They were out on the sea, when it started. Emma and Snow were lounging on the deck, trying to catch the sun and get some tan. David and Henry were training with wooden swords, trying to get the other one down to the ground. Little Neal was in a small bed next to Snow’s chair, sleeping peacefully. Killian was at the wheel, steering them to a calm spot he had seen fish at. David and Henry had wanted to fish and the women had decided to tag along to sunbathe. Regina had been feeling a bit under the weather, so she had stayed back in town. The day had gone quietly, until Neal suddenly started crying. Immediately, Snow sat up straight in her chair and picked him up from the bed, cradling him to her chest. She started bouncing him around, but it didn’t seem to help. She grabbed the bottle of formula from beside her chair but, as soon as she tried to give it to the baby, he started screaming even more. David and Henry, who had stopped the fight as soon as Neal had started crying, came over to them. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Snow shook her head. 

“I don’t know. He was alright before this.” 

She tried bouncing him around some more and talking soothingly, but nothing seemed to help. With a sigh, Killian reached out for the rope next to the wheel. He put the loop on one of the handles and headed down to the deck. Snow looked up at him when he stopped next to her. 

“May I, my lady?” 

Snow hesitated, looking at him with a frown. But an encouraging smile from Emma, whose chair was behind Killian, made her nod and stand up. Gently, she put the boy in his arms, looking with slight worry at how he shifted Neal around so that the boy was laying on his hooked arm, making sure that the hook was sideways, with the sharp tip laying against his own stomach. Then he turned around, clearly not bothered by the crying child in his arms. Snow and Emma exchanged shocked looks when they heard him start to sing. His soft voice carried through the deck of the ship, and made Neal quiet down slightly. 

“Hush now, my storeen

Close your eyes and sleep

Waltzing the waves

Diving in the deep.” 

He got to the helm, untied the rope and started turning the wheel. 

“Stars are shining bright

The wind is on the rise

Whispering words

Of long lost lullabies.” 

The ship made a soft turn and, when it stopped, the others noticed the change that happened. Now, instead of rising and sinking, it started to rock from side to side. Up on the helm, Neal had stopped crying and was just occasionally hiccupping. Meanwhile, Killian let himself rock with the ship while continuing singing. 

“Oh won’t you come with me

Where the moon is made of gold

And in the morning light

We’ll be sailing.” 

He tied the wheel again, making sure that the ship stayed in place, then walked to the far back of the ship. 

“Oh won’t you come with me

Where the ocean meets the sky

And as the clouds roll by

We’ll sing the song of the sea.” 

Moving as slowly and gently as he could, he sat down on the floor and leaned against the railing, still letting the ship rock him from side to side. 

“I had a dream last night

And heard the sweetest sound

I saw a great white light 

And dancers in the round.” 

Emma, Snow, David and Henry all stayed where they were, not wanting to disturb the singing man. 

“Castles in the sand

Cradles in the trees

Don’t cry, I’ll see you by and by.” 

He looked down at the boy with a small smile. Little Neal was sound asleep again, snuggled up in his blanket. 

“Oh won’t you come with me

Where the moon is made of gold

And in the morning sun

We’ll be sailing. 

Oh won’t you come with me 

Where the ocean meets the sky

And as the clouds roll by 

We’ll sing the song of the sea.” 

He sat there, just humming the melody, for almost two more minutes, before standing up. He made sure to not jostle the boy around too much as he carried him down to the deck and stopped next to Snow. 

“Here, my lady. Sound asleep.” 

Snow took the boy from him and gently put him back on the bed. Then she turned to Killian. 

“Thank you.” 

He nodded at her, before turning around and quickly walking back to the wheel. He untied it and headed back to the course he had been on from the beginning. The others exchanged confused looks. After a few seconds, Snow put her hand on Emma’s elbow and pointed to the door to the captain's cabin. 

“Emma. Why don’t you and David take the boys to the cabin and prepare some lunch for us.” 

Emma got the hint and nodded, gently picking up Neal. 

“Sure. Come on Henry.”

The boy and David followed her into the cabin, while Snow stayed on deck. She put the chairs together and carried them over to the side of the ship, before walking up the stairs to the helm. Killian glanced at her, but then turned back to stare out over the sea. Snow leaned against the side railing and smiled. 

“That was beautiful.” 

Killian nodded slightly. 

“Thank you.” 

“Where did you learn that lullaby?” 

Killian sighed slightly, his hand tightening on the wheel for a few seconds, before he relaxed again. He seemed to think hard for a moment, before smiling. 

“My mother used to sing it to me. We lived right by the harbour. When I couldn’t sleep, she would take me out there while Liam and my father slept. We would sneak onto an empty ship, lay down on the deck and look at the stars. She would tell me about the constellations and how to navigate using them. In the end she would sing for me.” 

He laughed quietly. Snow watched with surprise at how open and calm his expression was. 

“We got caught a few times. My mother tried to get us back to the house before anyone came to the ship, but sometimes she would fall asleep as well. They usually didn’t get angry, but I remember one of the captains got so mad that he grabbed me and almost threw me overboard, but my mother managed to stop him. In the end, he just shouted at us and we got to leave without getting harmed.” 

Snow smiled. 

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.” 

Killian nodded. 

“She was.” 

Something sad creeped into his voice and Snow frowned, before walking a bit closer to him. 

“What happened to her?” 

“She got a fever. At that time, there was no cure. Some of the old women in our village tried to save her, give her herbs, but nothing helped. I was six. She did her best to stay with us, but she couldn’t hold on too long.” 

Snow’s frown deepened. A fever was bad, but it wasn’t deadly. Even in the Enchanted Forest, fever was curable. And then it hit her. Killian was over 300 years old. Sometimes she forgot how old the man was. And 300 years ago, fever would have been very fatal. 

“I’m sorry, Killian.” 

He smiled. 

“It was a very long time ago.” 

“That doesn’t mean you can’t feel sad about it.” 

She put her hand on his elbow. 

“What was her name?” 

“Alice. Her name was Alice.” 

Snow noticed how he suddenly blinked much faster a few times, so she looked away, wanting to give him the privacy he needed. After a few seconds, she felt his hand on hers. 

“Thank you, my lady.” 

“For what?” 

He hesitated for a few seconds, before shrugging slightly. 

“For giving me a chance.” 

She smiled. 

“Everyone deserves it. And you have proven time and time again that you are not a bad person, Killian. You’re family.” 

She squeezed his elbow and, acting on instinct, she pulled him into a hug. He froze at first, clearly not knowing how to react, before putting his good arm around her, making sure that he kept the hooked one slightly behind his back. Noticing how tense he was, Snow let go of him just seconds later and stepped away. He quickly turned out towards the sea again and the woman smiled. 

“I’ll go help Emma with the lunch. Can we eat it on deck?” 

Killian nodded, grateful for the change of topic. 

“Aye. There should be blankets in one of the chests in my cabin. Milah was big on picnics on deck.” 

Snow looked at him with worry, but his expression was still calm. She had noticed that he had gotten much better at talking about Milah ever since him and Emma had gotten together. 

“Thank you.” 

Wanting to give him some privacy and space, she walked down the stairs and headed towards the captain's cabin. There was a small smile on her face. It was sad that Killian had to go through so much. But, if he hadn’t, they would never have met him. And they would never had gotten the chance to give him a family. Her smile widened when she realized that whatever thoughts she still had against Killian and Emma being together were gone. She had now realized, just like Henry, Emma and even David had, that Killian was a part of their family. Even if he himself didn’t really realize it fully. As she entered the cabin, she met Emma’s eyes and smiled. Her daughter smiled widely at her, understanding the change in her without any words having to be said. 


End file.
